Don’t panic at all the ingredients. Most are already in your pantry and most are added to one pot.

Clam preparation:

While preparing the soup base place fresh clams in a large bowl of cool water with 2 tablespoons of corn meal mixed in. This will clean the shells and cause the clams to disgorge any sand they may have ingested.

While the soup cooks, prepare the fresh clams. In a 12” fry pan add the contents of a bottle of beer and bring beer to a boil. Lift clams straight up and out of the water that they have been sitting in. This leaves any sand they have expelled on the bottom of the bowl. Place them in the boiling beer, cover the pan, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove cover, and as the clams open remove them with tongs and set them aside on a plate. If they cook too long they will become tough,

While these clams are cooking drain the 3 cans of chopped clams, save the broth ( can be added to soup if it becomes too thick.) Add clams to soup pot and stir.

Assembling:

When all the fresh clams have opened, ladle soup into bowls and place equal amounts of fresh clams with shells on top.